Personal Poem

i meant to say something about light
i raze light not your light and
not artificial light what of the artificial then?
an ungainly freudian monolith
gargantuan simple fleshy constructed
of shit found in the tv street about light
input output welding welded expository writing damaged categoricals
empathy but there's always a corollary-but with men
who lick their long waisted fingers clean of light
let's not talk of chivalry or boyhood manhood let's don't mention
one's compensation for time lost
while mistakenly incarcerated
me daffodil lazy under laundered blanket you baseless and imaginary
i meant to say something to you about lightness in chaos
clutter razes light not your lightness aloof
a poof proof of what makes one the fleet-footed slave of truth
i meant to say something outloud but i sank into the ocean to you
with the rowers and singing maidens and maidenchasers
and the mist which unnoticed by anyone not me unmoored
flares eternal
guides the way home

Source: Berrigan, Ted. “Words for Love.” An Anthology of New York Poets, edited by Ron Padgett and David Shapiro. Random House, New York, 1970, p. 61.